Greek tourist industry resilient despite economic, political, security worries: experts

With the surge of terrorist attacks in Europe, the outcome of the Brexit referendum and the attempted coup in Turkey, Greek officials and experts praised the resilience of Greece's tourism industry, but expressed fears regarding the changes in the Mediterranean tourist landscape in the long run.

External factors such as terrorism, Brexit and the refugee issue affects the "sensitive" tourism industry, Greek Deputy Minister of Tourism Elena Kountoura said during a recent press briefing.

Greece is showing a recovery following the migrant crisis with positive results in tourist arrivals for the first half of 2016, according to latest official figures. However, representatives of the tourist industry worry for the years to come.

"Due to the instability in the region, in the long term, Greece will face difficulties in the tourism sector," Theodoros Kontes, president of the Union of Cruise Ship Owners & Associated Members, told Xinhua in a recent interview in Athens.

Cruises are doing well, according to Kontes, since cancellations from popular Turkish destinations gave a boost to the Greek market.

"In particular, Piraeus harbor showed a 25 percent rise in activity. In addition, vessels stay longer in the port," he said.

But he is not optimistic for 2017-2018. "Companies that bring vessels in East Mediterranean do not include only Greece but also other countries, like Turkey," he noted.

The same pattern followed air arrivals. According to the Greek National Tourism Organization, Greece saw a 5 percent increase in international air arrivals in the first six months of 2016 in comparison to last year's figures. In addition, an 8.9 percent increase in Greece's regional airports is expected for July and a 10.1 percent increase in August.

Greece's tourism stands resilient to an environment of international financial uncertainty and dramatic geopolitical changes, the Greek National Tourism Organization commented in a statement.

"We gained a percentage of international tourists that would go to Turkey and they changed their mind. So they will travel to Greece, as we are a safe destination," Xenofon Petropoulos, communication director of the Association of the Greek Tourism Enterprises, told Xinhua.

But Petropoulos stressed Greece will lose a percentage of the 1.2 million Turkish travelers that visit the country each year. He hoped last minute bookings would contribute positively to the total revenue of the industry.

The stability in the region is a key factor for tourists to feel safe and continue making reservations. "We want our neighbor countries to have a stable situation. We hope that everything will calm down, and we will reach our goal for 2020-2021 with 29 million international arrivals," Petropoulos noted.

In the light of the recent attacks in Europe, Greece has increased security measures. "We have extra control in the harbors at the moment," Kontes highlighted.

"Most of these ships which are cruise vessels and leave Turkey, come in Piraeus because it is a big hub, where there is good control," he added.

According to Petropoulos, two electronic surveys -- one in January and one in May -- held in three major target markets in the United States, Britain and Germany showed very positive results for the Greek market.

"More than 70 percent of the sample responded that they do not consider Greece an unsafe destination," he said.

Lyssandros Tsilidis, president of the Hellenic Association of Travel & Tourist Agencies, hoped Greece will not face a terror threat.

Nevertheless, the financial crisis has a severe impact on the revenues. "The only problem we have to face is the economic recession not of our country only, but the consumer himself. Travelers depend on the currency of the country, if it is devaluated or it is upgraded. Every traveler has to find a solution to move around," Tsilidis stressed.

Regarding Brexit, "we have to wait and see what would be the difference between the British pound and euro in order to see how much more expensive will be the tourist package to the UK traveler to visit the EU countries," Petropoulos said.

Despite the temporary positive signs, it remains to be seen if dramatic changes will take place in tourism in the region, experts said. Enditem